Female Genital Mutilation

Simon Burns: To ask the Attorney-General what steps the Crown Prosecution Service is taking to better prosecute cases involving female genital mutilation.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is taking a leading role in tackling female genital mutilation (FGM). The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) announced the first ever prosecution under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 on 21 March 2014. The first defendant is charged with carrying out FGM and the second defendant is charged with intentionally encouraging an offence of FGM and aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring an offence of FGM.
	The CPS has worked closely with the police, other Government Departments and third sector organisations to put a robust framework in place to support reporting and the effective investigation and prosecution of FGM. The CPS has published action plans in 2012 and 2013 which have led to much closer joint working between the police and CPS. Lead prosecutors have been appointed for each CPS area and they have led on agreeing protocols with every local police force setting out the arrangements for investigating and prosecuting FGM locally. A joint CPS/police national training event has been held recently. The DPP and I have written to Ministers in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Department of Health with a paper identifying possible ways in which the criminal law could be strengthened.
	The DPP and I attended a Ministers’ meeting recently to consider cross-government action against FGM.

Business: Young People

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he has taken to ensure the availability of direct business experience for young people at school and university.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is encouraging an entrepreneurial culture in the UK by supporting a range of enterprising activities. These include a number of student challenges led by schools, colleges and universities, but also engagement with inspirational entrepreneurs who speak directly with students, sharing what it means to run a business and the skills they will need in order to be successful in the future.
	This engagement, including programmes such as the Premier League Enterprise Academy and Inspiring the Future, forms part of the Government's drive to provide young people with hands-on enterprise experience. The Government is also encouraging employers and schools to work together to inspire young people, introducing them to the world of work, careers and the skills and attitudes that employers are looking for in their future work force.
	In August 2013 the Government reformed post-16 funding to incentivise providers to offer high quality work experience and work-related learning as part of the non-qualification element of 16-19 study programmes, enabling young people to develop their employability skills.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Competition Commission will take as part of its investigation into the private motor insurance market to ensure that all quantitative data that is (a) collected and (b) commissioned is done so on a like-for-like basis.

Jennifer Willott: The Competition Commission (CC) is an independent body which conducts its investigations in accordance with the process and procedures set out in the Enterprise Act 2002 and its published guidance. It provides for interested parties to make submissions at various stages of an investigation. The CC is subject to and required by general public law principles to have regard to these submissions and take into account any relevant submission in making its decisions.
	Submissions to the private motor insurance market investigation have been received and taken into account. Provisional findings were published on 19 December 2013, and the CC is now analysing the responses it has received in submissions and via multilateral and bilateral hearings held with parties. As a result of that process, additional information has been submitted to the CC, and the CC has also requested additional information from parties. The CC's ongoing process has been and is being explained to parties as the investigation proceeds.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many start up loans of what total value have been awarded to individuals before a cash flow forecast was provided to a delivery partner;
	(2)  how many start up loans of what total value have been awarded to individuals before a business plan was provided to a delivery partner.

Matthew Hancock: This data is not available.

New Businesses: Unemployed People

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to promote small business entrepreneurial skills for unemployed people in Chelmsford constituency.

Matthew Hancock: Small businesses are vital to the economy and this Government is supporting people to start their own business in many ways including those who are currently unemployed.
	The New Enterprise Allowance can provide money and support to help unemployed people start their own business if they are getting certain benefits. This scheme can provide a loan to help with start up costs and a weekly allowance paid over 26 weeks. It can also provide a mentor to help develop business ideas and to write a business plan. Mentor support is ongoing in the early months of trading.
	The gov.uk website provides a finance and support finder at:
	www.gov.uk/business-finance-support-finder
	which can provide details of grant schemes. And the British Bankers Association’s mentoring website at:
	www.mentorsme.co.uk/
	provides access to free business mentors.

Older People: Crime Prevention

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what new steps he plans to take to protect the elderly against scams.

Jennifer Willott: To increase consumer protection we are introducing new legislation to give consumers private rights to seek redress and, where appropriate, compensation when they have been the victims of misleading or aggressive commercial practices.
	Alongside this the Government is committed to working with its partners to protect vulnerable consumers, such as the elderly, from scams through targeted education campaigns and robust enforcement action. Mass marketing scams have been identified as a priority for coordinated action by the Consumer Protection Partnership.
	We are also working with Citizens Advice and Trading Standards on their annual Scam Awareness campaign in May 2014 which aims to empower consumers by raising awareness of the Citizens Advice Consumer Service and encouraging people to report scams so that appropriate action can be taken.
	The National Trading Standards Board coordinates and funds the specialist teams to tackle scams:
	The National Trading Standards Scambuster Teams are working to catch scammers and bring them to justice to give consumers peace of mind. Since April 2012, the team has prevented rogues from scamming consumers out of around £90 million;
	The specialist National Trading Standards Scams Team is working with partners to provide access and support for victims and to disrupt UK based companies from aiding, abetting and committing fraud or other offences; and
	The National Trading Standards eCrime Team provides additional resource to support Trading Standards in tackling the increasing threat to businesses and consumers in relation to fraud and scams. Since April 2012, the Team have uncovered fraud of around £10 million.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his tax-free childcare scheme on childcare price inflation.

Nicky Morgan: Information on how future child care costs have been estimated can be found in the Budget 2014 policy costings document:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293740/PU1638_policy_costings_budget_2014.pdf

Children: Poverty

Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the effects of changes to tax and benefits on the number of children living in relative income poverty in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15.

Nicky Morgan: The Government publishes the impact of its decisions at each fiscal event, in a distributional analysis document. The latest document is available online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293738/budget_2014_distributional_analysis.pdf
	The Government remains committed to eradicating child poverty. However, the Government believes looking at relative income in isolation is not a helpful measure to track progress towards the target of ending child poverty.
	The Government’s Child Poverty Strategy 2014-17 sets out the plan to improve the life chances of children by: raising the incomes of poor children’s families by helping them get into work and making work pay; supporting the living standards of low-income families; and raising educational outcomes of poor children.
	Alongside the strategy, the Government has published an in-depth evidence review which identifies what leads families to be stuck in poverty and what leads poor children to become poor adults. By identifying and understanding the root causes of child poverty, now and across generations, the Government can target action effectively.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the Equitable Life payment scheme to policyholders who suffered financial losses as a result of Government maladministration which occurred (a) before 1 September 1992 and (b) after 31 December 2000; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government has no plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Equitable Life payment scheme. Any financial losses resulting from investment decisions taken outside of the qualifying period are not a result of Government maladministration, and are therefore outside the remit of the scheme.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the interest incurred on the debt needed to finance High Speed 2.

Danny Alexander: Government spending is paid for by general taxation, and when that is not sufficient, through borrowing. The Government does not hypothecate its different sources of financing, i.e. through borrowing or taxation, to different elements of spending.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set up an independent committee to the review the effect of the pilot badger culls on bovine TB ahead of any wider roll-out of the cull.

George Eustice: It is too soon to determine the impact of the two pilot culls on cattle breakdowns. The randomised badger control trials overseen by the Independent Scientific Group have already established the positive contribution that culling can make in reducing TB breakdowns. The results of these trials were reviewed by a meeting of scientific experts held at DEFRA in April 2011. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), is currently considering the report of the Independent Expert Panel before making a decision on wider rollout of the badger control policy.

Nature Conservation: British Overseas Territories

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if his Department will establish a biosecurity review in the British Overseas Territories;
	(2)  if his Department will conduct a review of bio-control of invasive species in the Overseas Territories;
	(3)  if his Department will conduct a review of the rate, spread and risks posed by invasive plant species in the Overseas Territories.

George Eustice: The Government attaches a high priority to addressing biosecurity, bio-control and invasive species issues in the UK Overseas Territories (OTs). We welcome the attention drawn to this issue by the Environmental Audit Committee in its recent report on Sustainability in the UK Overseas Territories and the recent session of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Biodiversity on Biosecurity in the Overseas Territories.
	Overseas Territories' Governments are constitutionally responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments and we work in partnership with them to identify where our support can be most effective. Overseas Territories naturally have different priorities and our approach has been to target resources in support of these rather than undertake any comprehensive review.
	As a result, DEFRA has provided funding for projects on biosecurity, bio-control and non-native species spread, following consultation with Overseas Territories’ Governments, where this has helped to meet their identified priorities.

Public Sector

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) co-operatives, (b) mutuals and (c) social enterprises which provide public services. [R]

Nick Hurd: The Government supports the growth of the social economy. Across England, there are now more than 85 public service mutuals, up from just nine in 2010. Collectively they deliver well over £1 billion in public services.
	Cabinet Office analysis from 2013 based on the BIS Small Business Survey estimated that 28% (c. 50,000) of SME social enterprises provide goods or services in the public sector.

Broadband

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the Government has invested in delivering super fast broadband for (a) Greater Manchester and (b) London in each year since 2010.

Edward Vaizey: The Government has allocated Greater Manchester £3.45 million to support superfast broadband and up to £17.85 million under the Super Connected Cities programme. London has been allocated up to £25 million from the Super Connected Cities Programme and does not currently have an allocation of funding to support superfast broadband.

Copyright

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the letter of 10 March 2014 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries to the hon. Member for Bristol East, in which he said that 'an exception to copyright for private copying is not expected to cause any additional harm to rights holders', what the evidential basis is for the statement that rights holders are already experiencing harm as a result of this practice.

Edward Vaizey: The Government does not believe that rights holders are already experiencing harm as a result of this practice, and has received no evidence that demonstrates any such harm. The new exception is not expected to change this situation. An impact assessment on the exception is available at:
	http://www.ipo.gov.uk/consult-ia-bis1055.pdf

Elgin Marbles

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what (a) communications, (b) meetings and (c) discussions she has had with (i) her ministerial colleagues, (ii) representatives of the British Museum, (iii) Greek government representatives and (iv) others on the request from the Director General of UNESCO to participate in a UNESCO mediation process to settle the dispute over the Parthenon sculptures;
	(2)  what steps she plans to take in response to UNESCO's request that the Government participate in a UNESCO mediation process with the Greek authorities regarding the disputed Parthenon sculptures; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  if she will publish her Department's plans in respect of the handling of UNESCO's request that the UK participate in mediation regarding the disputed Parthenon sculptures;
	(4)  what (a) representations have been made and (b) discussions instigated by Greek government representatives regarding the Parthenon sculptures at UNESCO meetings in the last 10 years.

Edward Vaizey: The Parthenon Sculptures are the legal property of the British Museum. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport routinely discusses matters relating to the Parthenon Sculptures with interested parties including colleagues within government, the British Museum, Greek officials and UNESCO. The Government will respond to the letter from UNESCO in due course.

Gaming Machines

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will bring forward proposals to introduce a mandatory code of practice for bookmakers on fixed odds betting terminals.

Helen Grant: The Government has already made clear that player protection measures on fixed odds betting terminals introduced by the betting industry from 1 March 2014 must be toughened and made mandatory. The Gambling Commission is reviewing its licence conditions and codes of practice, and its guidance to licensing authorities. As part of that review, the Commission plans to determine what measures will be mandated for all licensed betting operators.

Sports: Injuries

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what information her Department holds on the comparative risks of (a) death, (b) concussion and (c) other medical problems and injuries resulting from taking part in major sports.

Helen Grant: DCMS does not hold information or data on the comparative health risks resulting from taking part in major sports. My department takes player safety seriously in all sports. I expect National Governing Bodies, as the designated authorities with responsibility to regulate their sport, to make player safety their highest priority. The Sport England NGB Whole Sport Plan Standard Terms and Conditions in respect of statutory compliance include all relevant health and safety laws.

Youth Custody

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many places are currently occupied in each (a) youth offenders' institution and (b) secure training centre; and what the total capacity is of each such institution.

Jeremy Wright: Overall crime and proven offending by young people has fallen in recent years. Fewer young people have entered the criminal justice system, and as a result fewer young people have ended up in custody. This has allowed excess capacity in the youth secure estate to be decommissioned.
	Tables 1 and 2 show the current capacity and population in under-18 young offender institutions (YOIs) and secure training centres (STCs) at 31 of January for 2014, which is the latest available published data.
	The “capacity” figure relates to the number of beds available.
	
		
			 (a) Table 1: Capacity and population in under-18 young offender institutions at 31 January 2014 
			 Establishment Capacity Population 
			 Cookham Wood 126 120 
			 Feltham1 240 226 
			 Hindley1 248 161 
			 Parc 64 47 
			 Werrington 160 118 
			 Wetherby 259 214 
			 1 Feltham and Hindley operate dual functions in holding under-18s and young adults. 
		
	
	The table shows only the population and capacity related to under-18s.
	
		
			 (b) Table 2: Capacity and population in secure training centres at 31 January 2014 
			 Establishment Capacity Population 
			 Hassockfield 58 43 
			 Medway 68 62 
			 Oakhill 80 80 
			 Rainsbrook 87 81 
		
	
	This data is provisional and will be finalised in 2013-14 in the Youth Justice Statistics in January 2015.
	This information comes from the eAsset database, the booking system used by the Youth Justice Board to place young people into custody.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Floods

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent progress has been made by local authorities in discharging their responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to (a) promote business continuity, (b) encourage the take-up of property flood resistance and (c) increase resilience by businesses.

Brandon Lewis: Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to provide advice and assistance to businesses and voluntary organisations about business continuity management. The responses to the 2012 National Capability Survey indicate that the majority of local authorities in England and Wales are providing advice and promoting business continuity through a range of local level initiatives. Government Departments including Cabinet Office, DCLG and BIS facilitate the dissemination of good practice such as the establishment of local business continuity forums, through the National Community Preparedness Stakeholder group which includes representatives from the local government sector.
	Government supports the take-up of property flood resistance by providing advice and funding to local authorities to encourage local communities to take up initiatives to increase the take-up of property flood resistance for houses and business premises. Between 2007 and 2012, over 1,600 properties nationally received these measures through a range of local projects funded by DEFRA and the Environment Agency. In addition, DEFRA launched the Repair and Renew grant which provides up to £5,000 per flood affected home or business for additional flood resilience or resistance measures for homes and businesses that have been flooded since December 2013.
	Other government backed schemes introduced to enhance business resilience include; the Business Rate Relief available to affected businesses, which provides 100% rate relief for three months for those businesses which have been wholly or partly flooded and the Business Support Scheme, a £10 million scheme to provide hardship funding for small and medium enterprises that have sustained hardship and significant loss of trade since December last year.

Floods: Ebbsfleet

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what evaluation his Department has made of the threat of flooding to the proposed site of a new garden city at Ebbsfleet; and if he will publish on his Department's website any studies conducted or commissioned by his Department on that matter.

Kris Hopkins: The Government takes the risk of flooding very seriously. The new Urban Development Corporation, working with local authorities, will pay particular attention to flood risk at Ebbsfleet, taking account of the most up to date evidence.
	In considering new applications, we have made it crystal clear that local planning authorities need to consider the strict tests set out in national policy, and where these are not met, new development on flood risk sites should not be allowed. The National Planning Policy Framework states that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided. Local planning authorities should direct development away from areas at highest risk, including floodplains, but where development is necessary, it must be demonstrated that it is safe and will not increase flood risk elsewhere. This gives councils a robust ability to reject unacceptable planning applications. Councils’ local plans should also shape where development should and should not go, and address the need for associated infrastructure to accompany new development.
	Flood prevention measures, like robust flood and coastal defence, can make development acceptable where it would otherwise not be.
	Moreover, national planning policy is clear that any new buildings that are needed in flood risk areas are appropriately flood resistant and resilient. Mitigation measures such as land raising, landscaping, raised thresholds and re-arranging the internal uses of buildings, can sometimes also make development acceptable in such areas. Such measures can be made a requirement of any planning consent by the local authority.
	The strict tests set out in the framework to protect people and property from flooding are underpinned by our new planning guidance, which can be found at:
	http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk

Local Development Frameworks

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local planning authorities do not have an (a) adopted local development framework or (b) extant development plan in place.

Nicholas Boles: This Government has put Local Plans at the heart of planning. Our policy strongly encourages areas to get plans in place and ensure that they are kept up-to-date. This is the best way of managing development locally and of ensuring that communities are thoroughly involved in how their areas will develop.
	76% of councils have a published Local Plan and 53% of councils have an adopted Local Plan.
	To place this in context, six years after the Labour Government's 2004 Planning Act, by May 2010, only one in six local planning authorities had an adopted core strategy.

Sheltered Housing

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the use of sheltered housing to house families in temporary accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: Local authorities are responsible for the sourcing and provision of temporary accommodation within their district. The law requires that authorities must be satisfied that the accommodation is suitable for homeless households. In considering suitability authorities must, by law, consider whether the accommodation is affordable for the applicant, its size, its condition, its accessibility and also its location.
	In our drive to tackle the unlawful use of bed and breakfast accommodation we have provided almost £2 million to seven local authorities to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to this problem. Between them the seven local authorities have reduced the numbers of families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks by 96%.
	In developing solutions to this problem a number of local authorities looked at innovative ways to increase the supply of temporary accommodation, for example using modular accommodation constructed off-site, converting office space to residential and using decommissioned sheltered accommodation.
	This Government has invested £470 million to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness over the spending review period. The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable people who become homeless through no fault of their own.
	The Government has also made common sense changes to the law to allow local authorities to end the main homelessness duty with offers of accommodation in good-quality private sector accommodation. This helps homeless households move to settled accommodation more quickly and means they spend less time in temporary accommodation.
	We have reduced the average stay in temporary accommodation from 20 months at the beginning of 2010 to 14 months now.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to collect data on (a) the proportion of attainers in each region of Great Britain registered to vote, (b) the proportion of people aged 18 to 25 years old and pensioners registered to vote and (c) the proportion of people in receipt of benefits registered to vote.

Greg Clark: The Government has no plans to collect this data.

Electoral Register: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2014, Official Report, column 570W, on the electoral register: young people, how many times the student forum has met since its creation; and what the main outcomes of the forum have been in the last three years.

Greg Clark: The Student Forum has met 16 times across all regions since its launch on 18 July 2013.
	The Forum has secured the involvement of the Higher Education sector to support Electoral Registration Officers in reaching students on an individual basis after the transition to Individual Electoral Registration and promoting the use of online electoral registration after it is launched in England and Wales in June.

Electoral Register: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, column 510W, on Electoral Register: young people, 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to circulate the Rock Enrol! resources to (a) hon. Members, (b) members of the European Parliament, (c) members of the Scottish Parliament, members of the Legislative Assembly and Assembly members, (d) local councillors, (e) schools, colleges and universities and (f) local education authorities;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of young people who have been added to the electoral register as a result of Rock Enrol!;
	(3)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of young people registered through Bite the Ballot; what the average cost to the public purse was of each registration through Bite the Ballot; and what the average cost to the public purse has been of each registration arising from the registration campaigns of (a) the Electoral Commission and (b) his Department.

Greg Clark: The Government has made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities (LAs) and valuation joint boards (VJBs) in Great Britain. The Government has written to Electoral Registration Officers and encouraged them to use this funding to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area. Officials will continue to work closely with LA/VJBs in order to monitor and measure the outcomes.
	The Government is supportive of organisations that promote democratic engagement such as Bite the Ballot and welcomes lessons from their experiences. The Rock Enrol! learning resource is freely available on the gov.uk and Times Education Supplement websites among others. The Government is also working with a range of organisations, including the Association of Citizenship Teachers, to promote the use of Rock Enrol!
	For details of the Electoral Commission's registration activities I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for South West Devon (Mr Streeter), on 22 January 2014, Official Report, column 209W.

D-Day Landings: Anniversaries

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government regarding the 70th Anniversary of the D-day landings;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to enable veterans of the D-day landings who are currently living in Scotland to participate in the Normandy 70 commemorations.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence is working very closely with partners across Government and with external agencies, including the Normandy Veterans Association and the Royal British Legion (RBL), to deliver a fitting programme of commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-day landings. Veterans planning to attend events in Normandy are being asked to register their interest with the RBL, to allow an estimate of numbers planning to travel and to ensure that they have the necessary information and passes that will be required.
	Veterans resident in Scotland, or anywhere else in the UK or Republic of Ireland, who wish to make the trip to Normandy are invited to apply for financial support from the Big Lottery Fund, which has extended its Heroes Return 2 programme until 31 December 2015. This enables veterans, widows, spouses and carers to apply for travel and accommodation expenses to make trips back to places across the world where they served, or make a commemorative visit within the UK.
	No specific discussions have been held with the Scottish Government or other devolved Administrations on these arrangements, which apply equally to all veterans of the Normandy campaign wherever they live in the UK.

HMS Victory

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what meetings Ministers and officials in his Department had with Lord Lingfield about HMS Victory 1744.

Anna Soubry: Since notification of the HMS Victory 1744 wreck site (by Odyssey Marine Exploration) and its transfer to the Maritime Heritage Foundation a number of meetings have been held between officials and Lord Lingfield.
	The Under Secretary of State and Lords Spokesman on Defence, my noble friend Lord Astor of Hever, has recently attended two meetings chaired by the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), with Lord Lingfield (and his representative) and the Government's Advisory Group (consisting of English Heritage, the National Museum of the Royal Navy, the Receiver of Wreck, and the Marine Management Organisation), to discuss the wreck of HMS Victory 1744.

Tanzania

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Tanzanian government about addressing the issue of informal school fees that make completion of basic education unaffordable to poor families.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID and other development partners have had discussions with the Government of Tanzania and have made support conditional on the Government of Tanzania releasing their capitation grants in full.

Tanzania

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with the Tanzanian government about improving teacher salaries and conditions to attract more new teachers to the profession.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID has engaged the Government of Tanzania on the issue of teachers' salaries and conditions of work in the context of delivery of quality public services through the General Budget Support dialogue, Public and Civil Service reform programme and Education Sector Dialogue.

Palestinians

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the Palestinian Authority's adherence to its Road Map commitment to end incitement against Israel.

Hugh Robertson: We deplore all incitement to violence and continually urge the leadership on both sides to avoid engaging in, or encouraging, the type of action and language which will make it more difficult to achieve a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict. We consider that the Palestinian Authority under President Abbas and Prime Minister Hamdallah has demonstrated genuine commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution.

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how the Barking Riverside extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line will be funded.

Stephen Hammond: The Government has committed to work with the GLA to develop proposals for an extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking Line to Barking Riverside to help unlock the construction of up to 11,000 new homes but at this stage of development no decision has been taken on funding options.

Great Western Railway Line

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what agreement his Department has reached with the Welsh Government regarding the funding of electrification of the Great Western Line to Swansea and the Valleys lines.

Stephen Hammond: The Welsh and UK Governments agreed in 2012 to fund the electrification of the Valley Lines and the South Wales Main Line between Cardiff and Swansea. That agreement still stands and Network Rail is developing plans for electrification.

Railways: Kent

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans the Government has to improve the rail infrastructure on the North Kent rail line.

Stephen Hammond: The Government is working with Network Rail, train operators and Kent county council to progress the case for journey time reductions between Ashford and Ramsgate by 2019 through infrastructure improvements. Funding is available for this, subject to a satisfactory business case.

River Thames: Bridges

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what criteria his Department used in the decision to include the Garden Bridge in the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan.

Stephen Hammond: The National Infrastructure Plan 2013 sets out the government's long-term plan to ensure that it can deliver the investment required to meet the UK's infrastructure needs to 2020 and beyond. The Garden Bridge is not one of the Government's ‘Top 40’ projects as set out in the plan, but it is part of the 'infrastructure pipeline', which includes large capital programmes of investment worth £50 million or over.

Travel: Concessions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the level of cross-subsidy between fare paying passengers and those using the Concessionary Travel Scheme (a) generally and (b) in rural areas.

Stephen Hammond: Concessionary travel schemes are considered to be public service obligations.
	Legislation requires bus operators to accept statutory concessionary bus pass holders for free travel on off-peak journeys within England, and are reimbursed fordoing so. Bus operators may not solicit or accept payment for such journeys.
	Reimbursement is provided on the basis that operators are “no better and no worse off” for carrying concessionary pass holders, and we therefore do not believe this to constitute a subsidy.
	The Department publishes guidance to help authorities calculate appropriate reimbursement rates. We are unaware of any cross-subsidy between fare paying and concessionary pass holding passengers occurring in rural areas or elsewhere.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information Public Health England collects from health and wellbeing boards about their current and future spending on drugs and alcohol treatment services.

Jane Ellison: Local authorities (LAs) are required to report to Public Health England (PHE) and national Government on their actual spend on interventions for adult drugs, adult alcohol and young people’s substance misuse from their public health grant allocations on an annual basis.
	Drug treatment continues to be a key priority for the Government. In a letter announcing the 2013-14 and 2014-15 public health ring-fenced grants, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and PHE’s chief executive, Duncan Selbie, highlighted substance misuse as one of the key non-mandated services and described the major opportunity for LAs to work in partnership with the voluntary sector, police and crime commissioners and the private sector to deliver these critical services resulting in better outcomes for local populations.
	On 28 February 2014, PHE in conjunction with the Association of Directors of Public Health, announced a one-off review of LAs in England to ascertain their commissioning intentions for improving prevention programmes and rates of drug and alcohol recovery. This will describe the approaches undertaken by LAs and provide evidence to inform Government policy.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment Public Health England has made of and what evidence that body has collected on the effectiveness of the NHS health check programme in helping to diagnose diabetes; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans Public Health England has to increase the number of people diagnosed with diabetes through the NHS health check programme;
	(3)  what representations his Department has received from experts in diabetes on the NHS health check programme in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Economic modelling has demonstrated the potential for the NHS Health Check programme to prevent 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes and detect at least 20,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease. Public Health England (PHE) recognises that empirical evidence of the programme's impact is limited and in July 2013 set out “Our Approach to the Evidence”:
	www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/commissioners_and_healthcare_professionals/national_guidance/
	As part of this approach both PHE and the Department are committed to encouraging the development of evidence. PHE is currently developing a research and evaluation strategy that will be published later this year and the Department's Research and Development division have already commissioned two independent studies.
	In the last 12 months, PHE has also established an Expert Scientific and Clinical Advisory Panel (ESCAP) involving representatives from relevant experts in the fields of academia, medicine and public health. One such member is NHS England's National Clinical Director for diabetes. The purpose of ESCAP is to act in an advisory capacity to support successful roll-out, maintenance/evaluation and the NHS Health Check programme's continued improvement based on emerging and best evidence.
	Improving the detection of diabetes has already been raised as an item at ESCAP and the panel is currently considering a proposal to update the NHS Health Check diabetes filter.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been diagnosed with diabetes through the NHS health check programme in each year of its operation. [R]

Jane Ellison: The NHS Health Check is a locally implemented programme; the number of diabetes cases diagnosed as a result of the NHS Health Check Programme is not monitored nationally. Economic modelling has demonstrated the potential for the programme to prevent 4,000 people per year from developing diabetes and detect at least 20,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease.
	The recent NHS Health Check Implementation review recommended taking action to improve the flow of data across the system, improve evidence and the evaluation of the programme. Public Health England is currently developing a research and evaluation strategy that will be published later this year.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many requests for the funding of insulin pump therapy have been made to individual funding request panels in each year since 2010. [R]

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued technology appraisal guidance (TA151, June 2008) which recommends continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII or 'insulin pump') therapy as a treatment option for adults and children with type 1 diabetes mellitus, subject to certain clinical criteria. The therapy is not recommended for the treatment of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
	For patients not covered by NICE'S recommendations, funding decisions should be made by the relevant national health service commissioner based on an assessment of the available evidence.
	Prior to April 2013, primary care trusts were responsible for dealing with individual funding requests and information on individual funding request decisions was not collected centrally.
	From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning specialist endocrinology and diabetes services for children and young people and insulin-resistant diabetes services for adults and children, with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) responsible for commissioning other diabetes services for adults.
	We are advised by NHS England that information on the number of individual funding requests for the funding of insulin pump therapy made to NHS England and CCGs is not collected centrally.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetes in each of the last 10 years. [R]

Jane Ellison: Aggregate annual primary care trust (PCT) expenditure data for diabetes, calculated from programme budgeting returns for 2004-05 to 2012-13, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ billion 
			 2004-05 0.67 
			 2005-06 0.83 
			 2006-07 0.90 
			 2007-08 0.99 
			 2008-09 1.11 
			 2009-10 1.27 
			 2010-11 1.46 
			 2011-12 1.55 
			 2012-13 1.54 
		
	
	The programme budgeting data return is an analysis of commissioning expenditure by health care condition and care centre based on figures provided to NHS England by PCTs and PCT successor organisations.
	Further information on how these figures were calculated can be found at:
	www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/health-investment-network
	at the link headed “2003/4 - 2012/13 Summarised Programme Budgeting Aggregate PCT Figures”.
	The figures are not available in the format requested as NHS England do not collect the spend information broken down by type 1 and type 2 diabetes and there are no figures available for diabetes for 2003-04.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the Care Quality Commission has to assess the quality of care delivered to people living with (a) type 1 and (b) type 2 diabetes. [R]

Norman Lamb: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. All providers of regulated activities must be registered and continue to meet registration requirements setting out levels of safety and quality.
	The CQC has provided the following information.
	The CQC is currently conducting a thematic data review looking at diabetes care across the country. Thematic data reviews analyse existing data to produce intelligence at national, local or provider level, in areas where data are scarce or additional analysis will give insight.
	The reviews enhance the CQC’s understanding of a theme which helps to improve inspection planning and the CQC’s ability to promote improvement at a system level. This review will bring together information on diabetes care from a wide range of sources such as National Audits, the National Diabetes Intelligence Service, Public Health England, among others, and combine this with additional analysis conducted by the CQC to explore how outcomes for people with diabetes vary across the country.
	The work will also aim to identify variations in patterns between different population groups and whether some service providers or areas of the country are exceptions. Overall, the review will provide the CQC with an improved baseline understanding of the state of diabetes care that can then be used to target inspection activity and develop key lines of inquiry for assessing the quality of care for people with diabetes.

Diabetes

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the total number of people with (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes in each year since 1997; how many finished episodes of care relating to the treatment of diabetes there have been in each year since 1997; what estimate he has made of the total number of patients who will have (i) Type 1 and (ii) Type 2 diabetes in 2020; and if he will make a statement. [R]

Jane Ellison: An estimate of the total number of people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in each year since 1997 has not been made.
	However, the number of people registered with diabetes taken from the National Diabetes Audit (NDA), by type and audit year between 2009-10 and 2011-12 is provided in the following table. Data prior to 2009-10 is not currently held and participation in the NDA is not mandatory.
	
		
			 Diabetes registrations by type 
			 Audit year Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes 
			 2011-12 202,412 2,088,817 
			 2010-11 194,759 1,909,495 
			 2009-10 180,978 1,711,220 
		
	
	Data regarding the number of finished episodes of care relating to the treatment of diabetes since 1997 are provided in the following table. These data are not a count of people as the same person may have had more than one finished consultant episode.
	
		
			 Number of finished consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis of diabetes by year 
			  Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes 
			 1997-98 32,255 21,441 
			 1998-99 33,774 22,852 
			 1999-2000 34,792 24,108 
			 2000-01 34,828 24,692 
			 2001-12 34,030 23,625 
			 2002-03 32,924 25,125 
			 2003-04 32,011 27,788 
			 2004-05 32,411 30,229 
			 2005-06 34,234 32,080 
			 2006-07 34,950 30,983 
			 2007-08 35,462 33,444 
			 2008-09 35,625 38,066 
			 2009-10 36,422 41,702 
			 2010-11 38,287 45,668 
			 2011-12 37,263 43,334 
			 2012-13 36,336 34,253 
		
	
	An estimate of the number of people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes in each of the last five years has not been made. However, it is estimated that there are 850,000 people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes in the United Kingdom.
	An estimate of the total number of patients who will have Type 1 and 2 diabetes in 2020 has not been made.
	The National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network (NCIN), which is now part of Public Health England, publishes a Diabetes Prevalence Model that estimates both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes prevalence for each local authority and clinical commissioning group. More information is available on the NCIN's website:
	www.yhpho.org.uk/resource/view.aspx?RID=154049

Diseases

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the next meeting of NHS England's Prescribed Specialised Service Advisory Group will take place; and whether consideration of applications for highly specialised services for rare diseases like Alpha One-Antitrypsin Deficiency will be on the agenda for that meeting.

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) undertaken on the services available in the NHS for patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Norman Lamb: The commissioning of services for people with alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is a matter for individual clinical commissioning groups. The Department has made no assessment of these services locally.
	The Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) is a Department of Health expert committee which was set up to provide regular advice to Ministers on the services that are specialised and should be prescribed in regulations for national commissioning by the NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England).
	We understand the Alpha 1 Alliance is working with NHS England and the Specialised Respiratory Clinical Reference Group to develop a proposal on alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency for the next PSSAG meeting, which will be held on 16 May.

Drugs: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to combat the sale of fake drugs in the UK.

Norman Lamb: Counterfeit and falsified medicines pose tangible risks to the health of the United Kingdom public and Her Majesty's Government takes the issue extremely seriously.
	In the UK, counterfeit and falsified medicines rarely reach patients through the regulated supply chain and are more commonly available to consumers via unregulated websites. Although no fatalities have been attributed to counterfeit medicine in the UK, the protection of patients is paramount. In response, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), an Executive Agency of the Department of Health with responsibility for regulation of medicines for human use and medical devices, has developed and implemented a comprehensive Anti-Counterfeiting Strategy to combat the threat posed by the infiltration of counterfeit and falsified medicines and devices onto the UK market.
	A number of public awareness campaigns have been delivered, both by the MHRA and also by the MHRA in conjunction with other stakeholders such as the General Pharmaceutical Council, patient groups and the pharmaceutical industry.
	The MHRA monitors the internet for websites operating within the UK supplying medicines illegally, makes test purchases from these sites and, as a result, has successfully prosecuted a number of individuals. All referrals involving suspected counterfeit and falsified medicines are investigated thoroughly and all necessary action is taken to protect public health. Enforcement activity is closely co-ordinated with other enforcement authorities around the world and the MHRA regularly engages in international initiatives to tackle this issue.
	The MHRA also chairs an anti-counterfeit stakeholders group, with representatives from, among others, UK police forces, regulators and industry, where intelligence concerning counterfeit and falsified medicines is regularly reviewed and assessed.
	New requirements for wholesalers and distributors of medicines introduced by the Falsified Medicines Directive were implemented in the UK in August 2013.

Heart Diseases

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps Public Health England has taken to ensure that information captured through the National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network is used to improve delivery of NHS services.

Jane Ellison: Since its formal launch at a stakeholder engagement event in December 2013, early National Cardiovascular Intelligence Networks (NCVIN) deliverables include a web portal:
	www.ncvin.org.uk
	a series of factsheets with information and data about cardiovascular risk factors and disease areas and PDF profiles presenting a baseline position at Strategic Clinical Groups (SCNs); clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities (LAs) geographies.
	A key strategic priority of NCVIN will be to bring together the rich clinical data currently collected through a range of national clinical audit programmes which sit in organisations including the Royal College of Physicians, the Renal Registry, Health and Social Care Information Centre and National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research. These organisations are significant partners in the NCVIN.
	NCVIN will invest in supporting health professionals such as CCGs, LAs and clinicians in ensuring that this knowledge and evidence translates into quality improvement. NCVIN has invested in a programme of masterclasses developed and delivered with the NHS England SCNs and national audit programme partners. They will provide practical interpretation and increased understanding of the knowledge and evidence available across the cardiovascular family of diseases. The masterclasses will be a series of 12 workshops, one in each SCN region, to explore the breadth of cardiovascular information through a combination of presentation and practical exercises.
	This will provide front line members of staff the opportunity to explore and increase their understanding of cardiovascular data and information and think about how they can apply it in everyday planning and practice.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will arrange for a reply to be sent to the Member for Walsall North to the letter that he wrote to the Chief Executive, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust on 18 February 2014 concerning the father of a constituent.

Jane Ellison: This is a matter for the United Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

Obesity: Surgery

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many bariatric procedures have been performed in hospitals in each clinical commissioning group area (a) overall and (b) per 100,000 inhabitants in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Health and Social Care Information Centre has provided the number of finished consultant episodes and the rate per 100,000 of the population with a primary diagnosis of obesity and a procedure code of bariatric surgery broken down by primary care trust of residence. This data predates the formation of clinical commissioning groups.
	This information has been placed in the Library.

Pregnancy: Vitamins

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential benefits of increasing access to healthy start vitamins available to pregnant women (a) from all chemists and (b) without not means-testing.

Daniel Poulter: The Department recognises that permitting the sale of Healthy Start vitamins through community pharmacies could be beneficial and is currently exploring the options for enabling this to happen. We hope to have arrangements in place for supplying the vitamins to community pharmacies later this year.
	With regards to the removal of means-testing access to the vitamins, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently developing a guideline on the implementation of existing guidance on the prevention of vitamin D deficiency. As part of the development of the guideline, activities are being considered to (i) increase the provision of vitamin D supplements in a range of settings for all at risk groups and (ii) increase the uptake of Healthy Start supplements for those eligible. While this will address all population groups previously identified as at risk, it includes a particular focus on the groups covered by Healthy Start (pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age four). The draft guideline will be out for consultation in May 2014 and the final guidance will be published in November 2014.
	During the development of the guideline, the chief medical officer (CMO) recommended in her annual report 2013, “Prevention pays—our children deserve better”, that NICE should
	“examine the cost-effectiveness of moving the Healthy Start vitamin programme from a targeted to a universal offering”.
	Due to the difficulties in assessing the cost-effectiveness of Healthy Start per se as part of the development of the current guideline, NICE has agreed to undertake the CMO’s recommendation as a separate, stand-alone piece of work. The proposed work will focus on the cost-effectiveness of moving the Healthy Start vitamin supplements (for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age four) from a targeted to a universal offering. The work is currently being scoped and the report will be published in 2015.

Crime: Nature Conservation

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment her Department has made of the outcome of the recent Illegal Wildlife Trade conference and the resulting London Declaration; and what steps she plans to take to ensure that animal welfare is a key element of her Department's response to that declaration.

Norman Baker: The Home Office recognises that the illegal wildlife trade is not only a serious threat to our environment, but is also a transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds every year, and one which drives corruption and insecurity and undermines efforts to cut poverty and develop sustainable economic opportunities.
	I was therefore pleased that world leaders from over 40 nations, including key states such as Botswana, Chad, China, Gabon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Tanzania, and Vietnam, alongside the United States and Russia, gathered in London on 13 February 2014 and made a political commitment to take actions to eradicate the demand for illegal wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement, ensure effective legal frameworks, and to reduce the incentive for communities in source countries to get involved in the trade by supporting the development of alternative, sustainable livelihoods. I co-chaired part of the proceedings to underline the Home Office's commitment to this issue.
	The Home Office will continue to work with other Departments to ensure that the Government delivers on the UK Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade.

Human Trafficking

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to appoint an anti-slavery commissioner; and whether such an appointment will be a full-time post.

Karen Bradley: An announcement will be made on the Anti-Slavery Commissioner after the Modern Slavery Bill as been introduced to Parliament.